The Toltecs of ancient Mexico taught that each of us is "dreaming" a reality that was taught to us by our parents, teachers, church, and peers. We agreed to agree with their version of reality because of our fear of being judged and rejected for not doing what is "right." We learned to judge ourselves, as a way of protecting ourselves from the judgement of others.

This then is the story of the birth of the inner Judge (the little boy in this tale), protecting the hurt inner Victim (the little girl). We call the Judge and Victim together "The Parasite," because it both creates and feeds on our fear and thus controls our emotional body and our lives. It is The Snake on The Road. Much more about the Judge, Victim, and Parasite can be found in TACO, my Toltec Apprentice Community OnLine.

One day, a long time ago, in the Time of Innocence, a man and woman were walking in the beautiful forest near their village when they met a strange snake on the road. "If you eat my fruit, you will always know exactly what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad," the snake told them. Of course they were intrigued. "What wonderful power," the man said to his wife, "to know such wonderful things." And so together they accepted the snake's offer, and ate the exotic fruit he offered them. Immediately, they fell asleep, and they dreamed an odd dream. They dreamed that they awoke, and continued walking in the forest, now knowing the truth about what is right and what is wrong, and what is good and what is bad. Now they knew how everything should be.

They discovered that they liked the way some things were, and for the first time saw that there were many things they did not like.

In their dream they were soon blessed with the birth of a little girl child and a little boy child. The children were wonderful, and a blessing to their lives. Their hearts were open, and they all played and laughed together. They had forgotten all about the snake and his exotic fruit.

Then one day a stranger came to town, and seeing the little children and their parents playing so happily, he questioned the parents: "This world is a harsh and difficult place. Shouldn't you be teaching your children about what is right and what is wrong, and what is good and what is bad? What kind of parents are you?"

As soon as they heard his words, they remembered the snake and his exotic fruit, and they remembered everything they knew about what is right and what is wrong, and what is good and what is bad. And so they begin to teach their little children everything they knew about how things should be, including little children.

The little girl child and the little boy child were very loving and gentle. But when their parents begin to teach them what is right and what is wrong, and what is good and what is bad, the children tried to rebel. "I don't like that" they said, "that is not how I feel. That is not what I want." "How you feel is bad, and what you want is wrong," replied the man and woman. "You must do it our way. If you do not, we will call the snake who knows everything about what is right and what is wrong, and what is good and what is bad. The snake knows we are right, and it will help us punish you. You cannot be in our family unless you do what you are told."

The little girl was hurt and scared, and began to cry. "No!" said the little boy to the mother and father, wanting to protect the little girl. "You are hurting her. Leave her alone!" He reached out, and struck the man with his fist. With that, the man called the snake, who came immediately and helped the man and woman force the little boy and the little girl to eat the exotic fruit. Instantly, the children fell asleep and began to dream the same dream that the man and woman were dreaming. In that dream, the little boy knew that he had to keep the little girl quiet, so the snake would not come and hurt them again.

So the little boy told the little girl "Stop crying and stop being hurt. Do what they say. Don't make them mad. Otherwise they will hurt us more, and maybe they will make us leave them. If they do that, we will surely die." The little boy child knew that he had no power to protect her from the man and the woman and the snake. He knew that the only way that he could keep them both safe was to always remind the little girl child to be afraid of the man and the woman and the snake, and to agree to be like them. And so the little girl child learned to be quiet, to not cry, and to not be angry and even to not be too happy.

By the time the children grew up and left their mother and father, they had forgotten all about their magical childhoods, but they remembered the snake and his exotic fruit. And when it came their time to have little girl children and little boy children of there own, they knew to invite the snake by the side of the road to come to teach their children what is right and what is wrong, and what is good and what is bad.

And to this day, the snake waits by the side of the road. For you.